George Benson

HAPPY NEW YEAR

HAPPY NEW YEAR to each one of you! It’s been a whirlwind start to 2018. I’ve been in Vietnam, what have you all been up to? The regular communication through the email list starts this week so if you want to get involved with chatting to me on a regular basis, be sure to sign up!

So, this year is a big one for me. It is a year with a few question marks, but it’s fundamentally the year I fully immerse myself in a lifestyle I’ve been trying to build the past two and a half years. Since the moment, I hit one million subscribers on my YouTube channel in Los Angeles, California, my biggest desire has been to travel. What was so interesting about that trip, was that I hit one million whilst living in a multimillion dollar complex in the Hollywood Hills. I use the word interesting loosely. Many would consider this as somewhat of a pinnacle. Surely it can’t get any better than that?

As enjoyable as this trip was, this was just a façade of what the true meaning of feeling on top of the world should feel like to me.

When I first got into YouTube, it was my goal to travel to Los Angeles. After I achieved this goal, my horizons immediately broadened into this burning desire to find more places like Los Angeles. I feel at home in Los Angeles. Not so much Hollywood, but Westwood, Venice and Santa Monica areas. My goals with travel became to find homes away from home. A collection of places I can go to and just live life, immersed in these new environments that are not Newbury, England. I would not consider myself a traveller. I imagine this as someone with one of those giant back packs. You know the ones I am talking about.

Going back to this lifestyle that I’ve been trying to build. This lifestyle is one that enables me to constantly be travelling. To feel like life is one big holiday. This is possible for me through Vlogging my travels. It may not get as many views as what I used to do, but it is how I manage to live my dream life and still make a living. It is also possible to live this lifestyle without making a living on social media. I would like to recommend my good friend Jesse Pham, who I met in Bali in October. He has been travelling, running online businesses on the road for over five years. I take a lot of inspiration and knowledge from him and I feel like he is far more qualified to talk about that subject than me. Check him out here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCE_UJ5pns69ewrbqrAb8XUg

It all boils down to what you consider to be your purpose. In your twenties, it is all about finding out what you are good at and working at it. Find something you can focus your energy on to start setting up your life. Your thirties are about further training these core functionalities to become truly great at it. Then in your forties, you are fully fulfilling your purpose through the hard work you’ve put in the past twenty years of mastering a trade. For me, I want to use my twenties to learn more about film making. Learning through constant practise. Being all around the world and filming, meeting new people along the way who I can help, and who can help me. Finding your circle of people is a topic I will enter in another post.

I consider my purpose to be to create. To see as much of the world as possible and use my creativity to monetise this somehow. Right now, that is on YouTube, in my thirties, this could be presenting documentaries. My forties, directing the next wave of young film makers and enthusiasts.

One thing I have noticed, you will come across plenty of sceptics on the path to figuring out what you want to do. We live in a society where we are constantly being directed by conformists. People who believe in only their journey and struggle to fathom how or why someone would want to do something different to them. There is a very simple way of dealing with this people. Listen, nod, thank them, and move on. Advise should only ever be advise. Your parents may have expectations of you and what they think you should be doing with your life, but they don’t control your psyche and your dreams and goals. That’s all you. If you want to create a lifestyle that allows you to feel like you are constantly on holiday. Work on it. It may not come straight away, but going back to my friend Jesse; he shows that it really is possible.

I also understand that the travelling lifestyle may not be a dream lifestyle for everyone. I understand why it is some people’s purpose to settle down in their twenties, find an office job and have kids. Because I can’t relate to that, I won’t be giving that mentality attention in my posts. I’ve heard countless times from people who have this lifestyle that they wish they were doing what I am doing. I’ve never heard someone who is living the travel lifestyle want to go back the other way. If you want it, start figuring out how you can make it financially viable. It really doesn’t take a lot to simply start. In fact, if I had to quantify mental desire in comparison to monetary values, I’d say it takes more mental capacity to take the plunge, than the cash you have available in your bank.

I understand that is a very flaky sentence, the more open minded amongst you will interpret this as your own first step. Accepting that you can do it despite the blocks you’ve put in your way in the first place.

Alright cool, I think you guys get the idea. This year is going to be brilliant. I am currently in Koh Tao, Thailand, editing a video from the Cu Chi Tunnels in Vietnam. I am looking to advance my content this year into more educational formats as well as working on my cinematography and storytelling. This is all just one small part towards the journey.